http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-12-27-2016.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSBreathing down on 20k. Holiday sales up; online leads the way. Why would you go to a mall? Consumer confidence climbs – maybe I should take the credit. Home prices up but the trend is unsustainable. World’s oldest bank on the brink. Toshiba flubs again. Panasonic and Tesla bring manufacturing jobs to Buffalo. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 12-27-2016

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-11-24-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe for 11-24-2015 DOW + 19 = 17,812 SPX + 2 = 2089 NAS + 0.33 = 5102 10 YR YLD – .01 = 2.24% OIL + .89 = 42.64 GOLD + 6.70 = 1076.40 SILV + .05 = 14.30 The US economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter than previously reported. Gross domestic product rose at a 2.1% annualized rate, up from an initial estimate of 1.5%. Nearly all of the improvement was because of revised data on inventories, which showed businesses restocking shelves at a faster pace than the government first estimated. Still, company stockpiles remained elevated compared with sales, indicating that new orders and production will cool further to clear shelves and warehouses heading into 2016. Inventories grew at a $90 billion annualized rate from July through September, almost twice as much as previously estimated, but down from the second quarter. The improvement in inventory levels was offset by a slight downward revision in consumer spending last quarter. Cheap gasoline is giving households a little extra money, and consumers are spending, just not quite as fast; consumer spending was revised down to 3% from 3.2% in the initial estimate for the third quarter. Consumption during the current fourth quarter, including the holiday shopping season, is expected to increase at an annualized rate of about 3%. For all of 2015, the rate of …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-09-29-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe for 09-29-2015 DOW + 47 = 16,049 SPX + 2 = 1884 NAS – 26 = 4517 10 YR YLD – .04 = 2.09% OIL + .80 = 45.23 GOLD – 4.40 = 1128.70 SILV + .04 = 14.74 Single-family home prices rose in July, matching the pace of price gains in June but falling just short of expectations. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas in July gained 5 percent year over year. San Francisco, Denver and Dallas experienced the highest year-over-year home appreciation among the 20 cities with price increases of 10.4 percent, 10.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. The worst performing cities on the list include Detroit, and the only surprise is that Chicago was even worse than Detroit. The Sunbelt cities – Miami, Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas – which were the poster children of the housing boom have yet to make new all-time highs. Phoenix home prices were up 0.7% in July, and up 4.6% year over year. The Conference Board said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 103.0, the highest since January, from a downwardly revised 101.3 the month before. The present situation index, a measure of current conditions, also climbed to an eight-year high of 121.1 from 115.8. Yet the expectations index declined to 91.0 from 91.6, suggesting Americans are a bit more cautious about the next …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-08-11-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe for 08-11-2015 DOW – 212 = 17,402 SPX – 20 = 2084 NAS – 65 = 5036 10 YR YLD – .10 = 2.14% OIL – 1.71 = 43.25 GOLD + 4.60 = 1109.70 SILV + .13 = 15.46 Since mid-July the Dow Industrial Average has dropped from a high of 18,137, including a 5 session losing streak; in late July the Dow dropped below its 200 day moving average, indicating a downtrend; it bounced up to touch the 200-day moving average but could not break through; after that we started August with a 6 session losing streak. Yesterday, the Dow bounced 241 points; and that is looking like a dead cat bounce today. China’s central bank devalued the yuan in an effort to help jump-start its stalling economy. The central bank cut its daily reference rate by 1.9 percent, triggering the yuan’s biggest one-day drop since China ended a dual-currency system. For background, the yuan’s peg to the dollar had been in place since 2006. The People’s Bank of China, their central bank, would buy or sell yuan to keep the currency near a certain value against the dollar. The dollar’s been strong since 2011. And so, the peg made the yuan strong too. The People’s Bank of China called the change a one-time adjustment and said its fixing will become more aligned with supply and demand. …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-07-22-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:15 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe DOW – 68 = 17,851 SPX – 5 = 2114 NAS – 36 = 5171 10 YR YLD – .02 = 2.32% OIL – 1.62 = 49.24 GOLD – 7.00 = 1095.00 SILV – .05 = 14.90 As of today, Wall Street will have to comply with the “Volcker rule,” which bans taxpayer-insured banks from making bets with their own money. Although major financial institutions have fought for years to change the rule, they have for the most part fallen in line – shedding their proprietary-trading desks, pulling money from certain investment funds and ceasing other speculative activities. The new rule has also changed much of the industry. The five largest U.S. investment banks cut staff on bond sales and trading desks by 18% from 2011 to 2014, while 1,428 new hedge funds were launched during the same period. Greek MPs are debating a second set of reforms they need to approve to secure a €86 billion-euro bailout, as thousands protest against further austerity measures. The protest outside parliament briefly turned violent. Earlier, Greece’s PM urged rebels within his own Syriza party to support the reforms demanded by creditors. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has increased its cash lifeline to Greek banks with an emergency injection of an extra €900 million-euro, the ECB’s second in a week, coming just hours before the vote. The National Association of …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-02-11-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe DOW – 6 = 17,862 SPX – .06 = 2068 NAS + 13 = 4801 10 YR YLD un = 1.98% OIL – .75 = 49.27 President Obama has asked Congress for formal authorization to fight the Islamic State that would prohibit the use of “enduring offensive ground forces” and limit engagement to three years. The proposed resolution says Islamic State “has committed despicable acts of violence and mass execution.” Its militants have killed thousands of civilians while seizing territory in Iraq and Syria in an attempt to establish a hub of jihadism in the heart of the Arab world. Don’t expect a quick vote by Congress, maybe something in March, maybe just more talk. We keep hearing that ISIS is growing, and one way they recruit jihadists to their cause is through slick websites and social media. So, you might be wondering why the government doesn’t just close down those sites. I don’t know, but today, the hacktivist group Anonymous has launched a massive cyber-attack against ISIS. A list of more than hundred Twitter and Facebook accounts suspected to belong to Islamic militants has been released by Anonymous. Twitter has already suspended more than 1500 ISIS accounts since the group released the first list in June, 2014 and dozens of militant recruiting websites were knocked offline using collective DDoS Attack. Thousands of Twitter accounts associated with ISIS are still active and spreading jihadist propaganda, but …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-02-03-2015.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe DOW + 305 = 17,666 SPX + 29 = 2050 NAS + 51 = 4727 10 YR YLD + .10 = 1.78% OIL + 2.52 = 52.09 GOLD – 13.70 = 1261.10 SILV + .09 = 17.37 One year ago, the Dow Industrials dropped down to 15,356, which proved to be the low for 2014. Since then, up 16%, mas o menos. Corelogic reports home prices slipped 0.1% in December, to take the year-on-year rate to 5%. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10% of their peak; current prices in Arizona are still 29.5% below the peak. Colorado (8.4%), Texas (7.8%) and New York (7.6%) saw the fastest growth, while only three states — Maryland (-0.7%), Vermont (-0.9%) and Connecticut (-2.2%) — saw a decline on a year-on-year basis. New orders for factory-made goods in the U.S. sank 3.4% in December to mark the fifth straight decline. The latest drop suggests that manufacturers may have scaled back production owing to a stronger dollar and weak economic growth overseas that’s made it harder to sell American-made goods. Inventories also declined for the first time in 19 months, down 0.3%. Excluding transportation, new factory orders fell a smaller 2.3%. Earnings reporting season: Chipotle Mexican Grill said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 52% as sales benefited from stronger customer traffic, higher menu prices and new stores. It’s tough …

http://media.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/p/content.blubrry.com/eatthebankers/SINCLAIR_NOE-SEG_1-11-25-2014.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSFinancial Review by Sinclair Noe DOW – 2 = 17,814 SPX – 2 = 2067 NAS+ 3 = 4758 10 YR YLD – .05 = 2.26% OIL – 1.95 = 74.22 GOLD + 2.90 = 1202.20 SILV + .20 = 16.77 The major stock indices couldn’t close at records, but Apple reached a milestone today. Apple’s market capitalization hit a record $700 billion; that’s double from 3 years ago when Tim Cook became CEO. Apple is the first S&P 500 company to ever reach a $700 billion market cap. Yet, on an inflation-adjusted basis, it still has way to go to be the most valuable company of all time. Microsoft’s market cap peak of $613 billion in 1999 translates to nearly $874 billion in 2014 dollars. When Microsoft was at the top, it was trading at 72 times earnings. Apple’s price-to-earnings ratio is currently 18, in line with the overall S&P. It’s a little tough to imagine what Apple will do in the future to match the growth they’ve experienced in the past. The economy is better than you thought. The Commerce Department revised its estimate of third quarter gross domestic product from 3.5% up to 3.9%. There will be another revision before settling on a final number. Second quarter GDP came in at a 4.6% growth rate; combined second and third quarter GDP was the strongest back to back growth since 2003. Let’s …